Carcinogenic Poetry, the online journal of Vigorgray Press, published two of my poems today, “Mighty Tempting” and “Hopeville”. Mighty Tempting is a poem written in the voice of a character I sometimes use, known as Baby Girl. Her life is completely different from mine, her poems have a unique voice that is missing in my other work. Even when I read Baby Girl poems and stories aloud, I am told that not only does my voice change, my posture and facial expressions change as well.

Where does Baby Girl come from? I’m not sure, but I think I draw a lot on my Southern grandmother and her family for the vernacular Baby uses. She’s got an edge my Grandma didn’t have when I knew her, but I like to think, knowing bits and pieces of my family history, that she did have her strength as a young single mother in the back country of the panhandle.

Where Mighty Tempting is steeped in the South, Hopeville is a snapshot of New England. Written based on notes on a summer day at the pond, it captures the day better than a photo ever could.

Today draw on your region of the country. Write out a snapshot of it, what makes it special to you. Listen to the music of the language surrounding you. What makes this language different from anywhere else? Write a story or poem in that language.